Two BART officers recognized for their on-the-job heroism

On Oct. 16, 2013, the Northern California Chief Special Agents Association (NCCSAA) recognized two BART Police Officers for their heroism in the line of duty. “The NCCSAA bestowed the Association’s Valor/Officer of the Year Awards to BART Detective John Johnson and Officer David McCormick for demonstrating exceptional courage in two very risky situations which played out in the middle of crowded public areas,” BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey said.
 
"We are thrilled that one of our partners who assist us in our public safety mission selected our officers for this honor.”Detective John Johnson was recognized for chasing down a suspect on August 3rd this year in San Francisco at the Powell Street Cable Car turnaround after the suspect had shot a victim. “Detective Johnson was able to recover the gun and safely take the suspect into custody,” Rainey said.

Officer David McCormick was selected for responding to a man who was threatening to harm himself and who climbed on top of a stopped train at MacArthur Station during the morning commute in May. “The suspect’s actions caused a traffic nightmare for both BART riders and commuters because he jumped down from the train and ran across the busy freeway before returning to our property where he climbed back on top of the train,” Rainey said.  “The incident was frightening for our passengers on both our platform and in the incident train who watched as the situation unfolded.”  McCormick was able to safely take the man into custody after he built a rapport with him without anyone being injured. “In both scenarios, the suspects' actions were dangerous and threatened public safety. However, our officers’ quick response led to the arrest of both suspects without incident ,” Rainey added.